Peacock Mantis Shrimp Shell Looks Strange

[mikesreef83]

Hello,

I just recently introduced Bruce to his new home with plenty of places to hide with lots of rubble.

He is housed in a display refugium tank with an AI prime set at 10% and a A160 tuna sun light over mangroves.

I noticed today catching a few shots of video that his shell looks almost deteriorated in some spots. I immediately started looking up signs of shell rot as I know this is an issue due to too much bright light. He is, however, in his tunnels quite often. He eats very well and his behavior is to me normal for a mantis.

Please observe the photos and if someone can tell me if they know, is there anything I should be concerned about? Thank you in advance.

 

[VintageReefer]

@Stomatopods17

 

[mikesreef83]

In this video you can see a little more clear of his shell. We got him this last Saturday from our lfs. I believe he had some signs of this on his shell when we got him home. The photo is what I took when we got him home.

 

[ReeferHD]

I don't keep mantis shrimps but I did a lot of reading up on them a while back, it looks like shell rot to me, which can potentially kill the shrimp if not taken care of.

what i found on another forum: https://archive.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1076599

adult males are most susceptible. It is not uncommon for peacocks to get it. The trick is to get them to molt before it gets serious. Several factors can cause shell rot. These include intense light, malnutrition, stress, bad water conditions

Ryan.

 

[Stomatopods17]

That’s extreme shellrot.

Only chance it has is if you remove lights entirely, add a skimmer, a UV sterilizer, and hope for the best when it molts. Remove the molt pieces immediately if it does survive the molt, and keep the sterile approach to avoid any grow back. Feed small shell-less portions, no large live stuff. Squid/krill/clam, dip in selcon for nutrition.

U-Shaped burrow that is completely pitch black, no more than 2 entrances.

Its worth noting; high lighting itself isn't a cause of shell rot, but can be a contributor if other factors aren't properly maintained. If you fed it a crayfish, lobster, etc that also has shell disease, or it fed it something large that remained buried rotten in its burrow (they save leftovers so try to avoid giving them more than they eat),that will significantly increase risk of a shell rot outbreak. Its a pathogen and you want to prevent the pathogen from being introduced/give it conditions to grow.

 

[OneInchPunch]

Definitely not a happy mantis shrimp. I agree it defintely looks like shell rot and I also agree with all the advice given by stomatopods17. As he is newly introduced hopefully he should be getting ready for a moult soon as mine have generally had their first moult shorlty after being introduced to their new setup. I would agree feed little and often with enriched foods ensuring he eats it all and clearing any leftovers away to give him the best chances, its unfortunate but they are often not in the best condition by the time they arrive in an lfs.

 

[OneInchPunch]

Oh and I like the name

 

[mikesreef83]

That’s extreme shellrot.

Only chance it has is if you remove lights entirely, add a skimmer, a UV sterilizer, and hope for the best when it molts. Remove the molt pieces immediately if it does survive the molt, and keep the sterile approach to avoid any grow back. Feed small shell-less portions, no large live stuff. Squid/krill/clam, dip in selcon for nutrition.

U-Shaped burrow that is completely pitch black, no more than 2 entrances.

Its worth noting; high lighting itself isn't a cause of shell rot, but can be a contributor if other factors aren't properly maintained. If you fed it a crayfish, lobster, etc that also has shell disease, or it fed it something large that remained buried rotten in its burrow (they save leftovers so try to avoid giving them more than they eat),that will significantly increase risk of a shell rot outbreak. Its a pathogen and you want to prevent the pathogen from being introduced/give it conditions to grow.

Thank you for you response. The issue I have with no lights is that he is housed in a display refugium that is connected to my 50 gallon. Without the light I’m afraid things would die.

I just starting soaking all of his Krill and half shell clams in selcon (pictured below). Should I take the clams out of the shells before soaking?

When I made his tank before adding him I created tunnel work from 1.5” pvc with three entries in a large L-shape pattern around the back of the tank covered by the rock with a 6” sandbed. He has covered two of those entries since.

I sent a message to the owner at the LFS I got him from this last Saturday. I really wish I would have better observed him prior to bringing him home. Hopefully I can do whatever it take to help him.

Oh and I like the name

Thank you! I had to pick a pompous like name for him,

 

[OneInchPunch]

Thank you for you response. The issue I have with no lights is that he is housed in a display refugium that is connected to my 50 gallon. Without the light I’m afraid things would die.

I just starting soaking all of his Krill and half shell clams in selcon (pictured below). Should I take the clams out of the shells before soaking?

When I made his tank before adding him I created tunnel work from 1.5” pvc with three entries in a large L-shape pattern around the back of the tank covered by the rock with a 6” sandbed. He has covered two of those entries since.

I sent a message to the owner at the LFS I got him from this last Saturday. I really wish I would have better observed him prior to bringing him home. Hopefully I can do whatever it take to help him.


Thank you! I had to pick a pompous like name for him,

Think I recognise that pipework

 

[mikesreef83]

Think I recognise that pipework

Yes, the bottom is from you i believe and I used it as a reference since I made the exact copy pipework lol sorry forgot to mention! I didn’t end up snapping a pic of it before laying rock and sand over it.

 

[Stomatopods17]

That PVC setup is too complex and even if it was sealed off at certain points, it'd create stagnant water (An "ammonia pocket" of sort).

When Odontodactylids make burrows, they don't make cavities like other species (with typically 1 entrance), they make a single line tunnel which gets sealed up with material nearby, usually by digging under a stable structure to start off. If the burrow is too big inside they use the material to narrow it themselves more often than mine to expand it out. This is where the signature "U-Shape" comes in because they have tendency to pick a point of entrance, dig downwards on an angle beneath the structure, and reemerge upwards on the other side of the structure. This is very difficult to replicate in a home aquarium setting to the degree of how they do it in the wild as is, but its such a specific way odontodactylids live that not providing it often causes issues not just for it but also the owner down the road.

The other important aspect is the sealing part; odontodactylids will use large pieces of rubble, shell debris, macro, any material they can find to seal up an entrance when time comes to molt. When one has to seal up an additional opening, it uses resources it'd otherwise use for more important entrances and surrounding walls, this taxes their energy quite a bit and means unless you have a literal ugly mountain of rubble and shells in the middle of the tank (and IME this "ugly foot tall mountain" wasn't even enough for a 2 entrance burrow, mine completely leveled it and still wasn't satisfied), it likely won't have enough to work with or be too stressed.

I would personally keep the clam shells as they'll be repurposed, astrea snails would be fine, krill is fine. Just avoid freshwater feeders entirely (goes for everyone), and avoid lobsters/crabs/anything too big, mantis's stomache is about the same size as it's eyes, don't give it portions it'll have to bury rotten later, give it a piece of krill a little bigger than that 3 times per week, leave in some astrea snails to hunt, etc.

Obviously shell rot is a thing in the wild too, but in the home aquarium it should be more manageable since we can alter conditions to not support it as much. Odontodactylus in its entirety is just a very difficult, sensitive group, its easy to forget how sensitive O. scyllarus is in contrast to how unkillable gonodactylids, neogonodactylids, and gonodactylaceus can be, but Odontodactylus is very sensitive to ammonia and oxygen, while any species prone to shell rot adds nutrients to the mix (nitrates, phosphates)

I can't guarantee a turn around even if all conditions were met for this one, its a really bad case of shell rot, but it's still functionally a mantis until moment of truth comes. Adults molt about once a year.